March is Women’s History Month, a fabulous opportunity to honor the many women who have made our lives better, who have made strides in their fields, or who insisted that women deserved to be treated equally and would not settle for less. Last week, I selected a few biographical fiction titles, and this week, I am highlighting some nonfiction books about amazing women. I hope you enjoy these five nonfiction books celebrating women whose contributions left a lasting impression on our world during Women’s History Month:
The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race by Walter Isaacson – 2020 Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna’s contributions to the world will not be fully known for years and possibly decades, but her development with collaborator Emmanuelle Charpentier of CRISPR, an easy-to-use gene-editing technology, is revolutionizing modern science and medicine. Following this life-changing creation dubbed “the most important biological advance since … the discovery of the structure of DNA,” Doudna, a biochemist and gene scientist, has worked to tackle the moral issues associated with the invention, balancing the ability to better fight off new viruses such as the coronavirus and help prevent depression, with allowing parents to choose a child’s gender, intelligence, or eye color. In this exhaustively researched book, Isaacson chronicles the advent of a major new technology and what it may mean for science and the world.
Come Fly the World: The Jet-Age Story of the Women of Pan Am by Julia Cooke – Julia Cooke chronicles the women who worked as stewardesses (she uses this term since that was in use then) for Pan Am Airways and their contributions to the Vietnam War effort and women’s rights. Come Fly the World will reframe the way people view stewardesses from this era of transcontinental flight and show instead how progressive many of these women were and how they paved the way for future generations of women to easily negotiate traveling around the world. Cooke interviewed scores of women who served as stewardesses for Pan Am and chose to tell several of their stories in-depth. She relays their stories while also weaving in historical details, such as the way in which the role of flight attendant changed over the years and the women’s help in staffing American soldiers’ R&R trips between Saigon and Hong Kong. It is a truly awe-inspiring and captivating read.
The Exceptions: Nancy Hopkins, MIT, and the Fight for Women in Science by Kate Zernike – The Exceptions is the true account of the 16 female scientists who forced MIT to publicly admit in 1999 that it had been discriminating against its female faculty for years – sparking a nationwide reckoning with the pervasive sexism in science. The Exceptions is a powerful story that will resonate with women who experience what those at MIT called “21st-century discrimination” – a subtle bias, often unconscious but still damaging. I listened to this one and was alternately inspired, angered, and encouraged. It is an incredible read about the brilliant women who broke the glass ceiling in academia.
My Remarkable Journey: A Memoir by Katherine Johnson – This memoir of Katherine Johnson’s remarkable life is being published posthumously and is a quick and fascinating read. Her story is now known the world over after the Hidden Figures book and movie celebrated her contributions (along with several other Black women) to NASA’s first manned flights in space, but in My Remarkable Journey she starts at the beginning and tells the incredible tale of her 101 years in her own words. From her early years as a child prodigy in West Virginia to her many years at NASA as a human computer, she threads in her experience as a Black woman and includes the historical backdrop against which her contributions occurred.
When Women Ran Fifth Avenue: Glamour and Power at the Dawn of American Fashion by Julie Sato – When Women Ran Fifth Avenue tells the stories of Hortense Odlum of Bonwit Teller, Dorothy Shaver of Lord & Taylor and Geraldine Stutz of Henri Bendel. It also provides a brief history of department stores and how they changed the world of shopping and opened up employment opportunities for women. At a time when most working women were nurses or teachers, the department store created a new career path for them in sales and business. This glimpse into the department store phenomenon and its impact on our culture and shopping habits is fascinating, especially in light of their slow demise as online shopping popularizes.
For more book recommendations and bookish thoughts, see Cindy’s monthly Buzz Reads column, her award-winning Thoughts from a Page Podcast or follow @ThoughtsFromaPage on Instagram.
